Mary Ann Evans, also known by her stage name Fearless Nadia, was an Australian-Indian actress and stuntwoman, who worked in Indian cinema. She is most remembered as the masked, cloaked adventurer in Hunterwali, released in 1935, which was one of the earliest female-led Indian films.
Homi Wadia was an Indian film director and producer in Bollywood. He was the co-founder of Wadia Movietone productions, established in 1933 and later after the closure of Wadiatone, he founded Basant Pictures in 1942. In a career spanning five decades, he directed over 40 films, including Hunterwali (1935), Miss Frontier Mail (1936), Diamond Queen (1940), Shri Ram Bhakta Hanuman (1948) and fantasy film Hatim Tai (1956). He was also a founding member of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India, established in 1954. Homi Wadia was married to actress and stunt woman Fearless Nadia. Homi was the younger brother of JBH Wadia, who was himself a movie director.
Jamshed Boman Homi Wadia, commonly referred to as J. B. H. Wadia, was a prominent Bollywood movie director, screenwriter, producer and founder of Wadia Movietone Studio. He was born in prominent Parsi family which hailed from Surat, Gujarat whose ancestral business was ship building. Their family name of Wadia stands for master shipbuilders. In a family of entrepreneurs Wadia is credited with creation of movies involving populist stunt roles including those by Fearless Nadia and bringing concept of stunt actresses in Indian cinema.
John Cawas was a stuntman and actor in Hindi movies. Cawas made his debut in the Hindi film Hunterwali (1935), which became a career-defining movie for Fearless Nadia and Wadia Movietone. Cawas himself was famous for his performance of Tarzan in various movies.
Hind Ka Lal is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1940. The film was directed by Homi Wadia and Ramji Arya. It starred Radharani, Sardar Mansur, Boman Shroff, Mithu Miyan and Gulshan. The music was composed by Madhavlal Damodar Master.
Bambaiwali is a Bollywood action adventure film. It was released in 1941. The film was directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Wadia Movietone. It starred Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Sardar Mansoor, Dalpat and Boman Shroff.
Muqabala is a 1942 Indian action drama film directed by Batuk Bhatt and Babubhai Mistri, and starring Fearless Nadia, Yakub, Agha, Dalpat, Srinivas and Rajni. Batuk Bhatt started his career as a director by co-directing this film and Mauj (1943) and was a name used by Nanabhai Bhatt. The dog Gunboat was also billed in the credit roll of the film and on the posters. The music of the film was composed by Khan Mastana with lyrics by A. Karim. The story revolves around Nadia who plays a double-role of twin sisters separated at birth, one growing up surrounded by luxury and the other brought up by a gangster as a dancer. The romantic interest was provided by Yakub. It is also the first film in India to use the double role format.
Hunterwali is a 1935 Indian Hindi-language action film by the Wadia Movietone company of Bombay, featuring Fearless Nadia as the heroine. A story of a princess who fights injustice as the masked crusader Hunterwali, the film propelled Nadia and the Wadia brothers of Wadia Movietone to fame.
Miss Frontier Mail is a 1936 Indian action crime thriller film directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Wadia Movietone. The film starred Fearless Nadia, billed as the "Indian Pearl White" in the film. Her co-stars were Sardar Mansur, John Cawas billed as "Eddie Polo", Atish Sayani and Gulab. It was the third in the Diamond Thriller series. Like each film in the series, this too was a success. Nadia plays Savita whose father is the station master framed for a murder committed by a masked man. The masked man is intent on disrupting the railway service of the town to make way for an airline service. The highlights are Nadia's stunts on top of a speeding train fighting a gang of rail-road bandits.
11 O'Clock is a 1948 action film directed by Homi Wadia. It starred Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Atish Sayani and Aftab. The Austin car, which was a regular in most Fearless Nadia films, was given a billing with the main cast as "Austin Ki Bacchi". The music was composed by Chitragupta. Homi Wadia had left Wadia Movietone, having parted ways with his brother JBH Wadia and started his own film company called Basant Pictures. He was to continue with the action genre, but produced more mythological films under this banner. His co-sponsor was M. B. Billimoria, who also distributed the film.
Lutaru Lalna is a 1938 Indian Hindi-language action adventure film directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Wadia Movietone. The music was composed by Master Mohammed and Baldev Naik. The film starred Fearless Nadia, Boman Shroff, Sardar Mansoor, Sayani Atish and Sarita Devi.
Punjab Mail is 1939 action adventure Hindi film directed by Homi Wadia for Wadia Movietone. The score was provided by Madhavlal Damodar Master, and stars Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Sayani Atish, Sardar Mansoor, Boman Shroff and Sarita Devi. The film once again had Nadia playing the avenging female with mask and whip astride a horse dispensing justice and beating up the villains.
Hatim Tai is a 1956 Indian Hindustani language fantasy film directed by Homi Wadia for Basant Pictures. The story, script and scenario were by JBH Wadia, with dialogues by Hakim Latta and Chand Pandit. The film had several past favorites of Wadia Brothers credited in the film title role, such as Sardar Mansoor, Mithoo Miyan and Dalpat as actors and Boman Shroff as production manager. The cast included Shakila, P. Jairaj, Meenaxi, Naina, Krishna Kumari, S. N. Tripathi, B.M. Vyas and Sheikh.
Dhoomketu is a 1949 action adventure film directed by Homi Wadia. Made under the Basant Pictures banner, the music was composed by A. Karim with lyrics by Rajjan and A. Karim. Raja Sandow an early hero and director of films played a supporting role in this film. The film starred Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Sona Chatterji, Dalpat, Boman Shroff, Ram Singh and Raja Sandow.
Zimbo is a 1958 Hindi action adventure film directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Basant Pictures. John Cawas, the earlier hero of most Wadia Movietone adventure films is credited in the title role of the film as associate director, with special effects by Babubhai Mistry. The screenplay was by JBH Wadia with dialogues by Chand Pandit. The music was composed by Chitragupta, with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The film starred Azad, Krishna Kumari, Chitra, Achala Sachdev, Sheikh and Dalpat.
Jungle Ka Jawahar is a 1953 Hindi action adventure film directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Basant Pictures. The story was written by Boman Shroff and the special effects were by Babubhai Mistry. Having played daredevil roles starting in the 1930s, Fearless Nadia was still playing lead action roles in the 1950s and continued to act till 1968. The film starred Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Leela Kumari, Shyam Sunder and Shapoor Aga.
Wadia Movietone was a noted Indian film production company and studio based in Mumbai, established in 1933 by Wadia brothers J. B. H. Wadia and Homi Wadia. It was most known for stunt, fantasy and mythological films, including Hunterwali (1935).
Toofani Tarzan is a 1937 Hindi action adventure film directed by Homi Wadia. Produced by Wadia Movietone, the film had music by Master Mohammed with lyrics by Gyan Chander. It starred John Cawas, Gulshan, Nazira, Boman Shroff, Chandrashekhar and Dalpat.
Pooja (Worship) is a 1940 Indian Hindi/Urdu-language psychological drama film directed by A. R. Kardar. The music director was Anil Biswas, with lyrics by Khan Shatir Ghaznavi. Produced by National Studios, the story, screenplay and dialogue writer was M. Sadiq and the cinematographer was P. G. Kukde. The film starred Sardar Akhtar, Zahur Raja, Sitara Devi, Jyoti, Sankatha Prasad, Sunalini Devi, Bhudo Advani and Baby Meena.
Padma Devi (1917–1983) was a popular Indian Bengali Hindi/Hindustani Film Actress and playback singer of Indian cinema, in the silent era and the early talkies. Starting her career with the main role in Sea Goddess (1931), directed by Dhirubhai Desai and produced by Saroj Film Company, Padma went on to act in over one hundred films in her career.
